System of and apparatus for flowing wells



J. D. Nlxow 2,4@5932 SYSTEM OF'ANDAPPARATUS FOR FLQWING WELLS Au. 16, w46.,

Jan. 12, 1945 Filed Jeafd'y Nmfz I Imam/bof@ 'w 9 w45 J. D. NlxoN v 245,24

SYSTEM 0F AND APPRATUS FOR FLOWING WELLS Filed Jan. 12, 1945' 4 sheets-sheet 2 Aug, 6, 194., J. D. NlxoN 499324 SYSTEM OF AND AP'PARATUS FOR FLOWING WELL'S.

Filed Jan. l2, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Jed'dy Nikon Aug. 6 E946. .,J. D. NHXON SYSTEM oF AND APPARATUS FOR FLowING 'WELLS Filed Jan. 12, 1945 4 sheets-snee@ 4v lf /////////4// /r//////////////////// Patented Aug. 6, 1946 SYSTEM OF AND APPARATUS FOR FLOWING WELLS Jeddy D. Nixon, New Braunfels, Tex. f

Application January 12, 1945, Serial No. 572,490

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in systems of and apparatuses for flowing wells.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved system for flowing wells of the slow or low production type, which wells, due to the consolidated nature of the producing formation produce slowly or which due to the relatively small yield or low formation pressure either accumulate a relatively short column of well fluid in the well and/or build up a column of fluid very slowly; thus making ordinary producing methods expensive, wasteful and unsatisfactory. Since such wells are prone to become incrustated with parain, my improved method also seeks to eliminate or reduce parafning by removing the cause.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved system wherein small or relatively small quantities of well fluid are periodically displaced into a collection area by means of relatively small quantities of pressure uid and the accumulation thus collected is elevated and discharged from the well with a proportionate amount of pressure fluid, whereby regular lifting stages may be maintained and pressure iluid conserved, as well as channeling of the pressure fluid through the well lluid due to the relatively short column usual in wells of the type described, is prevented.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved system whereby the building up of the usual short columns or long columns composed of slugs of well fluid, superimposed upon each other, is prevented and the resultant back pressure upon the formation is obviated or the waste of pressure fluid is eliminated due to the superimposing of successive slugs prior to final ejection from the well.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved system of flowing wells wherein they well fluid is admitted from the producing formation into a receiving area in small or relatively small quantities and such quantities periodically displaced into a larger collecting area, whereby it is not necessary to wait until a column of well fluid of such length as to be economically and efficiently lifted, is built up.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved system of flowing wells wherein the well fluid is periodically displaced in small or relatively small quantities into a collection area by pressure fluid and after a sizeable accumulation of well fluid in the collection area is obtained, such accumulation is displaced to the 20 Claims. (Cl. 10S-240) top of the well in a single and continuous operation, and also in which method the supply of pressure fluid to displace the well fluid is controlled from two sources, one a secondary source for intermittently causing small conserved supplies of pressure iluid to displace well lluid from the receiving area into the collecting area and the other, a primary source for causing a sufficient supply of pressure iluid to elevate and discharge the collected well iluid from the collection area, all`V without channeling or undue aeration, as well as without bleeding oil wasteful quantities of pressure lluid.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved system wherein the well fluid is displaced by pressure iluid in stages from the accumulating area to the collecting area and then cascaded in the collection area, whereby no hydrostatic load of well fluid is imposed upon the slug of well iluid when being displaced, other than that inherent to said slug.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus operating in accordance with the system.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus operating in accordance with the system wherein the well casing is utilized to form a collection chamber as Well as one which lends itself to ready assembling and installation in a well.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved well fluid lifting apparatusKL wherein a receiving chamber is located at the` bottom of the well and a collection chamber is also located at the bottom of the well adjacent to the receiving chamber and connected thereto; together with a tubing or conductor extending from the collection chamber to the top of the well and a pressure fluid inlet valve connected with the receiving chamber and located in the lower end portion of the well, whereby pressure fluid maybe economically supplied to the chambers.

Another object of the invention is to provide animproved well fluid lifting apparatus wherein a collection chamber in the lower end of the well is located above and adjacent to a receiving chamber and the well fluid discharge tubing is connected to the bottom of the collection chamber, whereby well fluid accumulated in the receiving chamber may be periodically displaced therefrom, conducted to the upper end portion 'of the collection chamber and cascaded thereintol with displacing the hydrostatic load of previously `displaced accumulations.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described wherein the collection chamber is exterior of the eduction conductor and is formed between packers adjustably fastened in the casing, whereby the capacity of the chamber may be varied by vertically adjusting one of the packers and changing the lengths of the intermediate conductors, and also whereby the capacity of the collection chamber is not by the length or diameter of the eduction conductor.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together wit other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference t the accompanying drawings, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

Figs. 1, 2 and'3 are views partly in section and partly in elevation and representing sequence, a well installation of an apparatus for carrying out Y the method,

paratus such as may be used with the intermitters,-

and

Fig. 14 is a view of a modified form of receiving and collection chambers, partly in elevation and partly in section.

This application is led as a continuation-inpart of my co-pending application Serial No. 454,620, filed August 12, 1942.

In the drawings, the numeral Ill designates an upright cylindrical receiving chamber or receptacle, which is located at the bottom of the well as is shown in Fig. 3. The chamber has a reducing coupling II screwed into its lower end and a depending nipple I2 is screwed into this coupling. A bull-plug strainer I3 is screwed onto the lower end of the nipple. An ordinary standing valve I4', of the ball type, is mounted in the upper end of the nipple and extends upwardly in the coupling II.

The receiving chamber Ill has a second reducing coupling I5-screwed into its upper end; While a down-now pipe I6 has its lower end screwed into thev upper end of said coupling. As is shown in Fig., 3 the usual well casing C extends slightly below the upper end of the chamber I0. A suitable packer I1 mounted in the casing, packs oil between the casing and the pipe, thereby shutting off the producing formation which lies be1ow the casing. Well fluid which may be oil and/or gas and sometimes including water, flows from the producing formation and enters the perforations ofthe strainer I3, from which it rises through the nipple I 2 into the receiving chamber I0.

One of the features of the invention is the step in the method whereby a small or relatively small quantity of welluid may beY displaced from the receiving chamber I0, at each operation. The invention is most applicable to wells where the bottom-hole pressure is low and the well uid does not accumulate with suiiicient rapidity or rise high enough; or due to a consolidated or `quantities will always be relatively small.

tight formation or the comparatively small quantity of Well iiuid in the formation, said well does not build up a sufficient column in the well, to make ordinary lifting methods practical. There are many wells which produce so slowly or in such limited quantities that in practicing the method, it becomes necessary to lift only approximately one gallon of well iuid (liquid) at each operation, while in other wells several gallons may be lifted at each operation. However, the The receiving chamber may be of such length as is required to carry out the method.

The principle on which the apparatus operates being to periodically displace limited accumulations of well fluid into a collecting area, pressur@ fluid is supplied by the pipe I6 to the upper end of the chamber. In order that this pressure uid may act on top of the well fluid standing in the chamber, a discharge tubing I S extends down into the said chamber. An ordinary standing valve I9 is screwed into the lower end of said tubing, a short distance above the standing valve I4. The pressure fluid forces the well uid downwardly in the chamber I0, whereby said uid unseats valve i9 and is elevated in the tubing. When the liquid level in the chamber goes below the valve IS, the pressure fluid escapes into the tubing.

As is shown in Fig. 2, the upper end of the down pipe I is screwed into the lower reduced collar 20 of a lower iitting 2 I. This fitting is provided with a substantially L-shaped passage 22 and the upper end of the discharge tubing I8 is screwed into the bottom of the fitting so as to discharge into the bottom of said passage. The tubing I8 is disposed at one side of the collar 2Q and the flared mouth of a vertical duct 23 discharges into the collar for supplying pressure fluid to the down pipe IB. This duct23 is arcuate in cross-section as is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The upper end of the duct opens into a cylindrical sump 24 in the upper end of the tting, which sump is internally screw-threaded to receive the lower end of a connecting pipe 25. A counter-bored well 26 is provided in the bottom of the sump and the lower end of an eduction tubing 21 is screwed into the upper end of said well; A port 23 leads from the bore through the fitting (Figs. 2 and 7) and discharges into the casing.

An upper tting 29 shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 6, is formed with a bore 30 extending therethrough, somewhat larger in diameter than the eduction tubing 27 which extends axially through said bore. In an actual installation the eduction tubing will not be bent as shown, since owing to the lengths of the parts, said tubing will pass through with only slight deflections. A vertical discharge tubing 3i disposed at one side of the connecting pipe 25 has its lower end screwed into the top of the lower fitting 2| in communication with the passage 22 and is provided in its upper portion with an elongate discharge slot 32. In order to anchor the upper end of said tubing, a cap 33 is screwed thereonto. An anchor belt 34 is supported in a anged bushing 35 carried by a bracket 3S projecting laterally from the lower end of the upper iitting 2S. This bolt has screwthreaded engagement in the cap 33.

' The upper tting 29 has an internally screwthreaded collar 31 at its upper end for receiving the lower end of a hanger pipe 38. A suitable packer 3d packs off between the casing and the hanger pipe. It will be observed that the lower packer I'I (Fig. 3) and the upper packer 39, pack off a space within the casing C exterior of the elements i6, 2i, 25, 29, 3| and 3B which forms a collecting chamber A, into which the slot 32 of the tubing 3|, discharges. The Well uid which is elevated through the tubing I8 and passage 22 by the pressure fluid, is thus ejected into the collection chamber A and this chamber is of such size as to accumulate a sizeable quantity of well fluid, as for instance a barrel. Adjustable packers are common in the well art and the packers Il and 39 may be vertically adjusted to vary the capacity of the collection chamber as conditions may require.

The eduction tubing 21 (Figs. 1 and 2) extends upwardly through the bore 39 of the fitting 29 into and through the hanger pipe 38. Connected in the tubing is a slip joint 40 comprising a sleeve 4I into the lower end of which the tubing is screwed. A bell 42 is formed on the upper end of the sleeve and is provided with internal packing rings 43 in which the upper length of the tubing has a sliding fit, whereby a fluid-tight joint is made. This slip joint 4 permits the upper length of tubing to be vertically adjusted. The hanger pipe 38 is, connected to the lower end of an operating valve B. As this valve may be of any suitable type, it is not considered necessary to illustrate or describe the same in detail. A valve and control apparatus such as are shown in my Patents 2,245,003, 2,202,462, and 2,245,005. may be used. The valve B has pressure fluid inlet ports 44 and suitable valve means for controlling the supply of such fluid to the hanger pipe 39; while a Well tubing 45 leads from the valve for conducting Well fluid from the eduction tubing.

The principle of operation involved in the invention is that of periodically lifting relatively small quantities of well fluid from the receiving chamber l0 to the collecting chamber A, by means of pressure :fluid and lwhen a sufiicient quantity of well fluid has been accumulated in the collec-- tion chamber, to elevate and discharge such accumulation. Obviously, the quantity of pressure iluid required to lift a small or relatively small quantity of well fluid from the receiving chamber I0 to the collection chamber A, a distance usually less than 25 feet, is not nearly as large as the quantity of pressure fluid necessary to lift the many times larger quantity of Well uid from the collection chamber to the top of the well, a distance varying from several hundred to several thousand feet. As it also is desirable to maintain the casing C above the packer 39 full of pressure fluid and under sufficient lifting pressure, it becomes manifest that it is also desirable to conserve such pressure iiuid, which is usually gas.

In order to supply the pressure fluid in accordance with the invention, I provide a primary source and a secondary source connected in common with the mechanism for actuating the valve B, and including an automatic valve for shifting the supply from one source to the other source. Here again the particular mechanisms for Supplying the pressure fluid may be of any suitable type. As the primary source, an apparatus P, such as it shown in my Patent No. 2,202,462, may be used and for the secondary source an apparatus of the type shown in my Patent No. 2,171,478, may be employed.

. Both of these apparatuses are time controlled and thus the secondary apparatus or intermitter S may be set to supply pressure fluid for brief periods at predetermined intervals, while the primary apparatus or intermitter P may be set to operate at the end of an `overall period of proper durationto permit the requiredlnumber of-rse'cl ondary-operations during such duration. As an illustration, the primary intermitter P may be set to operate every v7 hours; while thel secondary apparatus may be set tooperate vat intervals of 10 minutes, skipping an operation at the time'intermittei P operates. would operate approximately 42 times to each op,-

eration of the intermitter P. If the intermitter S displaced one gallon at each operation or stage, approximately 42 gallons (liquid) of Iwell fluid would have been collected in the chamber A, when:

the intermitter P operated. A barrel of -oil contains approximately 42 gallons (liquid). y I

I have shown the intermitter P connecting wit a pressure fluid discharge pipe 50 and the intermitter S, as connected with a discharge pipe 5I; The pipe 50 isv connected with one side of the T-shaped casing 52 of an automatic shift valve E and the pipe 5| is connected to the opposite of said casing as is shown in Figs. 4 and 9. A pres.- sure uid conducting pip'e 53 leads to the actu ating apparatus for. the valve B. in the well.

A coupling 54 is screwed onto one side of the` casing and the pipe 5U is screwed into .this cou-v pling. An annular beveled valve seat 55 formed in the couplingat'one end of the casing. A like coupling 56 is screwed onto the opposite side of the casing andthe pipe l5l isscrewed thereinto. A slide valve 5l has a sliding fit in thecasing 52 and is provided with a reduced shank 58k inter-f mediate its ends. On each end of the valve a bev-V eled annular valve disk 59 is suitably secured.

The disks may be made of anyr suitable material,A

such as synthetic rubber or packing material.

In operation, one or the other of said disks is always in engagement with an adjacentl valve. seat 55, thus alternately closing ofi` the pipes 50.k

and 5 I. The valve 45l is of such length that when one of the disks 59 is seated, the opposite end of the valve is in the medial portion of the casing 52, thus `permitting free flow of fluid from'the open seat to the pipe 53. The valve is alternately shifted from one seat to the other seat by the pressure fluid acting on the seated end ofv said valve.

The pipe 53 leads to an actuator which includes a cylinder 6i as is shown in Fig. 4 whichA contains a piston as shown in my Patent No.'V

2,202,462. This cylinder is suitably supported and has a piston 62 fastened to the upper end of a wireline 63 which line extends down through the Well head 64 and is connected with the valve B.

In operating the apparatus, it is rst installed in the well.r The apparatus is hung from the pipe 45 which in turn may be suitably suspended from the well head 64. As the well casing is shut in at the surface in accordance with the usual practice, the casing space above the packer 39 forms, a reservoir R which is lled with pressure uid, such as gas, by means of the pipe 60. This gas is constantly supplied under a sucient pressure to :build up a working pressure in the reservoir, usually from 250 to 600 lbs. per square inch. Such a working pressure is substantially maintained throughout the operation.

The entire apparatus including the valve B is located Yat the bottom or lower end of the well. In many installations the valve B may be less than feet above the base of the well in a well which may be several hundred or more than a thousand feet in depth. As set forth in my Patent No. 2,171,478, the valve B is operated by the Wire line 63 which is attached to .the'piston 62 of the Thus, the intermitter Si cylinder 6| for raising and lowering the wire line reservoir R through the inlets vlill.

The secondary intermitter S is of the type which is designed to operate rapidly so pressure uid may be supplied to the cylinder 6| for a brief lperiod of time and quickly shut oi. Usually thevintermitter S will open the valve B from 1 to several seconds, as very little pressure fluid, at the Working pressure herein specied, will be required to lift the small quantity of Well iluid from the chamber l to the chamber A. It will be assumed that the well has been emptied of collected well iiuid and the shift valve 51 is seated at the left hand side ofl the casing 52. of the automatic valve E, thus shutting oi new through the pipe I; also thatwell fluid has lled the receiving chamber l0 to the point Where the desired and predetermined quantity has accumulated by owing thereinto through the strainer I3 and past. the standing valve i4. The timing mechanism in the intermitter S at this time operates said intermitter to release the pressure fluid which flows through the pipe 5|, unseats theyalve 51 and causes it to engage the oppositevalve seat 55Y and close off the pipe 50, whereby said pressure uid may iiow into the pipev 53. The pressure uuid.. from the pipe 53 enters the actuator cylinder 6l and raises the wire line whereby the valve B (Fig. 1) is opened to admit pressure fluid through the inlets 44 from the reservoir R. This pressure uid flows down the hanger pipe 38. to the bore 30 of tting 29, (Figs. 1 and 2) thence by pipe 25 `to the well 24 and by way of duct 23 and pipe I-B to the top of the receiving chamber l0. Usually the Well fluid will rise in the chamber l0 to a point; adjacent the coupling l5. (Fig. 3) and thus, the pressure fluid will be delivered. on top of the accumulation. of well iiuid. When this occurs, the valve E4. will be closed. thereby keeping the pressure off of the formation. The pressure. fluid acting upon the well uidwill. force it downwardly in the chamber l0, unseating the valve I9 and displacing such iluid upwardly into the discharge tubing lB, through said tubing (Fig. 2), thence through the passage 22 into the tubing 3l and thence through the slot 32 to the collection chamber A.

. Itis here pointed out that the slot 32 islocated in the upper portion of the tubing 3l andalso that the packer L1 is located some distance below said Slot, thereby giving to` the. collection Cham.- ber a large capacity below said slot. An im,- portant feature of the invention, is that the well fluid which discharges threughthe slot4 cascadesv or falls down into the collection chamber therebelow. Owing tothe cascadingV of the oil, in the collection chamber, no hydrostatic load from preceding displaced accumulationsv is imposed upon each succeeding displaced accumulationV dis.-r charged into the collection chamber A When theliquid level of thewell fluid in chamber I0 is forced below the valve i9', no additional Well uid will be displaced into the tubing l 8 and. when the displaced well iuid hasbeen. discharged through the slot 32, the. supply oi pressure fluid will be shut ott. Due to the larger diameter of the collection chamber A and the considerable space. therein above the slot 32,. the residue of pressure uid. flowing from the slot 32:, will be' dissipated inthe upper portion of.' said collection chamber. Whenthe velocity of thepressure iiuid` iiowing through the. valve1l9 recedes, said valve. will close. `Whenthe valve B. closes, any pressure.-

8 fluid possessing insufficient energy to unseat the valve I9, will be trapped between said valve I9 and valve B and not lost.

In order to release pressure fluid trapped in the upper portion of the collection chamber A, a.

relief valve is provided in the tting 29 above the bolt 34 (Fig. 2). lIhis valve is of the ball type and is provided at the lower end of an upright passage 66 connected intermediate its ends with the bore 39 of said fitting. Whenever the pressure of the gas trapped in the collection cham-V ber becomes suicient, it will unseat the valve 63 and flow into the bore 30, when the valve B is closed.

As a conservation measure, the secondary intermitter is timed to shut off when the accumulation oi well iluid is discharged through the slot`32 oi' pipe 3l; thus gas is supplied only in sufficient quantity to displace the accumulation of Well fluid and in this case is not lost or vented to the atmosphere.

As an illustration and in no sense, a limitation, if it is desired to collect a barrel of well iiuid which may be oil, the chamber i9 may be arranged to accumulate above the valve I9, one gallon of oil. Thus in 42 successive intermittent operations. approximately a barrel of oil may be Collected in the chamber A. The quantities may of course beless or greater. The collection period will vary in accordance with production of the Well. Some wells may be more productive than others and thus the quantity of well iluid accumulated in chamber l0 and collected in chamber A, may vary, as well as the timing of the operations.

The primary intermitter P is of a type designed to supply a larger quantity of gas at each operation than is the secondary intermitter S. It is timed to operate when the predetermined quantity of oil has been collected in the chamber A.

In Figs. l0, 1l and 12, I have shown another form of the invention and also have further illustrated the installation. The casing C is provided with a Well head fill' on which is mounted a cross T 10, from which the usual iiow line 1l extends. A stuihng box 12 is mounted on the T and wire line 63 extends through this boX. The T 1.0 is fastened to the upper end of the tubing 45 which extends down to the Valve B as is shown in Figs. 10 and .11. In Fig. 1l, the wire line G3 is shown attached to the upper end of a weight bar 13. This weight bar when lowered engages a plunger 'it and depressesthe same to close the valve B as is clearly shown in my Patent No. 2,245,004. As before stated, it is not considered necessary to describe the valve B in detail because any valve suitable for the purpose may be used. While in the form shown in Figs. 10 and 1l, the weight bar is lowered to close the valve and raised to open the valve, as in my Patent No. 2,202,462, the operation may be reversed as in my Patent Re. 21,199. Suitable kick-oil valves 15 may be connected in the tubing 45 above the valve B as is common inthis art; such valves are shown in my Patents 2,171,480 and 2,245,002.

The Valve B is connected with a suitable gas release valve 16 such as is shown in my Patent No. 2,245,008, Fig. 13, by means of a nipple orv short length of pipe 11. A suitable packer 18 is mounted on the nipple so as to pack oi the casing C thereabove and form the-pressure fluid reservoir R in the same manner as the packer 39 in Fig. 1. The purpose of valve 1G is to release any gasv or'pressure uid from the casing below the packer to the nipple 11. The upper reducedend.-

of an elongate. receiving chamber 19 is screwedy into the lowerl end of the valve 16. This chamber, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, is cylindrical in crosssection and is given suilicient length to accumulate the desired quantity of well fluid.

A rdischarge tubing 80 extends upwardly through the valve 16, nipple 11 to the valve B. The lower portion of this tubing is swaged or otherwise enlarged to form a cylindrical receiving chamber 19 which is disposed co-aXially in a collection chamber 8| which is co-axially disposed in the casing C, The receiving chamber 19 is spaced from the casing and the collecting chamber is spaced from the receiving chamber so as to provide the necessary areas therebetween. A standy ing valve 33 is screwed into the lower reduced end of the chamber 8| and has a tail pipe 84 depending therefrom as is shown in Fig. l2, The tail pipe terminates above a standing valve 85 screwed into the lower reduced end of the receiving chamber 19 and supports a nipple 86 towhicha bullplug-strainer 81 is attached.

The spacing between the collecting chamber 8| and the receiving chamber 18 may be very narrow because the bulk of the well fluid accumulated in the chamber 19 will be below the enlarged portion of the chamber 8|. This arrangement permits a maximum diameter to be given to the collecting chamber so that its storage capacity will be adequate. Where the accumulation of well iluid in the receiving chamber is small, said fluid may submerge only a portion of the tail pipe 84.

Any suitable time controlled intermitter may be employed for supplying pressure iluid from the reservoir` R to the valve B; such time controlled mechanisms are clearly shown in my patents herein enumerated. It is possible to use a single intermitter of the type shown in my Patent No, 2,245,005, and to provide reduced additional notches 8B on the Wheel l of such patent between the notches ||2 thereof, to provide for short or limited operations for displacing the well fluid from the receiving chamber 19 into the collection chamber 8| and to employ the larger notches ||2 of said patent Vfor lifting the collected load from the well, as is shown in Fig. 13.

The well fluid enters the receiving chamber 19 in the same manner as it enters the chamber I0 in Fig. 3. |At suitable intervals determined by the spacing of the notches 88, relatively small amounts of pressure fluid are dischargedby the valve B on top of the fluid in the chamber 19, whereby the accumulated well fluid is discharged through the tail pipe 84 past the valve 83 into the collection chamber 8|. This operation is repeated until the predetermined amount of well iluid has been collected in the chamber 8|, whereupon, the collection of well fluid is elevated in the tubingupon the roller I lll of the lever |85 enters the larger notch I2.

It is pointed out that the pipe 11 and tubing 80 may be of any desired length. In Fig. 14, I have shown another form of apparatus wherein the pipe 11 and tubing 8|) are both lengthened and the enlarged portion of said tubing is eliminated, thus making the tubing 8i) serve as the collecting chamber.

It is also pointed out that during the interval o'ftime elapsing between the last displacement of well fluid from the receiving chamber I8 or 18 into the collecting chamber A, 8| or 88, well iluid will accumulate in the receiving chamber, therefore when pressure is supplied to lift the collected well fluid, it will first displace the accumulation from the receiving chamber. In the form shown in Figs. 1 to l9, the displaced accumulation is carried into the collection chamber A and with the. following pressure fluid, forces the collected well fluid which will always stand well above the port 28, into the tubing 21, so that when the pressure uid enters said tubing the column of well fluid will be in motion and the pressure fluid will not channel therethrough. It is obvious that in the forms shown in Figs. 10 to l2 and 14, the accumulation will be displaced into the ytail pipe 83 and start the collected well fluid moving upwardly, before the pressure iluid enters the collection area.

This invention Seeks to conserve the pressure fluid which is usually gas, by locating the valve B at a point adjacent the receiving and collection areas, as compared with a valveat the top of the well. By this arrangement it is not necessary to fill a long pipe with gas and waste this gas in orderto rlift a small accumulation, or a large collection of well fluid. It will be noted that the slot 32 is near the top of the discharge tubing 3| so that the collection chamber AV therebelow is ample to store the desired quantity of Well fluid,

such as oil; also thatby dumping or cascading each batch or accumulation into the chamber A,

no hydrostatic load must be displaced therein.Y

By using the casing C and the packers |1 and 38 to form-the collecting chamber, not only is such chamber economically formed, but it may be lengthened or shortened at will because adjustable packers may be used. y

The formation of paran is prevented because by accumulating and collecting the oil at the bottom of the well, the temperatures will usually be high enough to keep the paraffin in solution; and when the oil is elevated to the top of the well, it will be in sulcient volume and so rapid, as to obviate a pressure drop suflicient to parailln the tubing. The apparatus .beingv formed largely of tubular members lends itself to ready assembly and installation in the well under ordinary oileld practices. The fluid which is supplied to elevate or lift the well fluid may be referred to as pressure fluid, lifting fluid or gas Y What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A system of flowing wellsy having casing vand tubing therein which includes, means for packing off the casing and maintaining therein a reservoir of pressure fluid under working pressure, means for accumulating a relatively small quantity of well iluid at the bottom of the well in "a confined area, means for periodically admitting a proportionate quantity of pressure fluid from said reservoir to the accumulating means to displace each accumulation of well fluid, whereby the well fluid is displaced in a series of stages, means for collecting the displaced well fluid in a single body in a confined area at the bottom of the well through a period of several stages of displacement until a quantity of well fluid has been col lected, and means for admitting pressure fluid from the reservoir to the collecting area in sufficient quantity to displace the body of collected well iluid-into the well tubing and elevate it tothe top of said tubing and discharge it therefrom during a continuous operation.

2. A system of flowing wells having tubing therein which includes, means for maintaining a reservoir of pressure fluid under working pres sure in the well exteriorly of the tubing, means for accumulating a body of well fluid at the bottom of the well, means for admitting pressure fluid from said reservoir at predetermined'intervals to said body of accumulated well fluid to n displace it instages, means for collecting the well iiuid displaced' through a seriesof stages in to a bodyat the 'bottom of the Well, and'meansA for admitting pressure fluid from the reservoir'to the bodyof collected Well fluid for a period of time and in sufficient quantity to continuously displace the collected body of well fluid Vupwardly through the tubing and discharge it therefrom.

3. A system of flowing wells having tubing therein which includes, means for accumulating Welliiuid at the bottom of the well, means for periodically supplying pressure liuid to the accumulation of Well fluid to displace it and cascade it into a collection area eXteriorly of the tubing at the lower end of the Well until a body of well fluid is collected, and means for supplying pressure fluid to the collected well iiuid to displace it from the collection arear to the tubing and elevate itin said tubing tothe top'ofthe well.

4. A systenui of iiowingevvells*having tubing therein whichA includes, means for -accumulating a `small quantity of well fluid in a confined area at the bottom of the well, means for periodically supplying small quantities of lifting fluid and displacing and cascading each accumulation of well iiuid into a collection area in said well until a quantity of Well fluid has been collected, means rfor conserving therlifting fluid in the well, and means for supplying suiicient lifting fluid to the collection area to displace the collected Well fluid from the well. Y

5. A system of flowing wells having tubing therein which' includes, means for confining a supply of pressure uid in the well, means for successively accumulating quantities of well duid in a confined area at the bottom of a well in small individual batches, means for supplying pressure fluid to each successive batch of Well fluid from a, point adjacent said area to displace each batch Y into a collection area, means for supplying pressure fluid `from a' point adjacent said collection area to lift the .collected batches en masse to the top of the Well, and means forcontrolling the supplies of pressure fluid from the top of the well.

6. A` system of flowing Wells having tubing therein which includes, means for successively accumulating quantities of well fluid in a confined area at the bottom of a well in small individual batches, means for supplying pressure fluid .to each successive batch of well fluid from a point adjacent said area to elevate it in the Well, means for cascading each elevated batch into a confined collection area, means-for supplying fluid from a point adjacent said collection area `to lift the collected batches en masse to the top of the well, and means for controlling the supplies of pressure iiuid from the top of the well.

7. A system of flowing Wells having tubing therein which includes, means for successively accumulating quantities of well fluid in a confined area at the bottom of a well in small individual batches, means for supplying pressure fluid to each successive batch of Well fluid from a point adjacent said area to elevate it in the well, means for cascading each elevated batch into a confined collection area, means for supplying duid from a point adjacent said collection area to lift the collected batches en masse to the top of the Well, and means for automatically controlling the sup- 'plies of pressure fluid from the top of the well.

a small quantity of well fluid in a confined area at the bottom of the well, means for periodically supplying small quantities of lifting'iiuid and displacing and cascading each accumulation of well fluid into a collection area in said Well until a quantity of Well iiuid has been collected, means for collecting and trapping the pressure fluid expended in lifting each accumulation, and means for supplying sufficientlifting fluid to the'colle'ction area to displace the collected well uuid from the Well.

9. A system of flowing wells wherein a body of lifting fluid is stored in the casing under oil-lifting pressure and an eduction tubing is'disposedin the casing which includes', means for accumulat- .ing a body of oil inthe well, means for supplying the lifting 'iiuid at -predetermined intervals to said body of accumulated oil to displace it in stages, means for collecting the oil displaced through a Vseries of stages into a body'of predetermined volume at the bottom of the` well, and means for supplying the lifting iiuid to the collected body of oil for a period of time and in quantity suiiicient to continuously lift the collected body of oil'through the tubing of the Well and' discharge it therefrom, e

1G. A system of flowing wells wherein a body of lifting iiuidis 'stored 'inthe casing under oil-lifting'pressui'e'andan eduction tubing is disposed in the casing which includes, means for accumulating oil from the formation in a confined area at intervals of time, means for periodically supplying' the lifting fluid to the accumulated oil to displace it into a collecting area,l means for collecting the displaced oil in such area during such periods until a body of oil is collected equal to at least one barrel at the bottom of the well, and means for supplying the lifting fluid to the collected body of oil to continuously lift it through the tubing of the Well and discharge it therefrom.

11. A system of flowing Wells wherein a body of lifting fluid is stored in the casing under oilliftingipressure and an eduction tubing is disposed in the casing which includes, a receiving chamber having a standing valve located below the liquid level 4in'the well for admitting and trapping oil therein, an oil collecting chamber connected with the tubing and also connected with the 'receiving chamber for -receiving fluid therefrom, the collecting chamber havinga capacity for storing the quantity of oil to be ejected from the well during a single lifting operation, vmeans for retaining oil in the collecting-chamber adapted to open in response to fluid pressure, means for supplying iiuid pressure from the well casing tothe receiving chamber to -displace oil therefrom into the collecting chamber. surface-controlled means for actuating the uid pressure supply means. and time-controlled means for operating the surface controlled apparatus having means for causing the operation of Athe surface-controlled means andthe fluid pressure supply means to periodically supply pressure liuid to the receiving chamber to displace oil'therefrom into the collecting chamber without displacing said oil from the collecting chamber and to periodically supply pressure fluid to the collecting chamber in suiiicient 4quantity to-discharge the collected oil from the collecting chamber intorthe tubing and ejectxsaid oil from the tubing at the surface of the Well.

l2. A system of flowing wells having casin and tubing therein which includes, means in the casing providing a reservoir of pressure fluid, a receiving chamber disposed in the lWell below the liquid level therein, means in the Well adjacent the receiving chamber for supplying pressure-fluid from said reservoir to the receiving chamber to displace oil therefrom, a collecting chamber at the bottom of the well connected with the tubing and communicating with the receiving chamber for receiving well and pressure fluid therefrom, and surface operating apparatus having means including a time-controlled device for periodically operating the lifting fluid supply means to supply lifting fluid to the receiving chamber to displace oil therefrom into the collecting chamber and to subsequently supply lifting fluid to the collecting chamber to displace oil therefrom into the tubing and eject such oil from the tubing.

13. A system as set forth in claim 12 wherein the time-controlled device includes a movable member having elements spaced to cause operation of the fluid pressure supply means at predetermined intervals of time and each for a predetermined duration of time and at least Aone element to cause said operation subsequent to the other elements and for longer duration of time.

14. A well fluid lifting apparatus for wells having tubing therein including, a vertically elongated receiving chamber adapted to be located in a well below the liquid level therein for receiving oil from the well, a vertically elongated collecting chamber connected with the tubing having an inlet at its lower end extending into the receiving chamber, a valve for admitting fluid to the collecting chamber and retaining liquid therein, a pressure fluid inlet valve mounted in the well tubing and connected with the receiving chamber for supplying lifting fluid to the receiving chamber to displace oil therefrom to the collecting chamber, whereby said lifting fluid is supplied also to the collecting chamber when a predetermined quantity of oil has been displaced from the receiving chamber, surface-controlled means for opening the pressure-fluid admitting valve, and

.apparatus on the surface for periodically operating said surface-controlled means having means for causing a series of operations of predetermined periods of time and a subsequent operation n for a longer period of time, whereby oil is accumulated in the collecting chamber in a series of displacements from the receiving chamber and the collected oil raised from the collecting chamber by the lifting fluid.

15. A system of flowing wells having tubing therein which includes, a receiving chamber disposed in the Well having an inlet below the liquid level therein, means mounted in the well tubing for supplying lifting fluid to the receiving charnber to displace oil therefrom, a collecting chamber wholly at the bottom of the well adapted to be connected with the well tubing and connected with the receiving chamber1 to receive fluid displaced therefrom and having means for retaining oil therein, means for operating the lifting fluid supply means to displace oil from the receiving chamber into the collecting chamber in a series of stages until a load of oil has been collected in the collecting chamber, and means for supplying lifting fluid to the collecting chamber to raise in the well tubing the load of collected oil and to discharge it from the well.

16. A well fluid lifting apparatus including, an eduction tubing, a pressure inlet valve connected to said tubing, a receiving chamber adapted to be mounted at the bottom of a Well, a conductor connecting the receiving chamber with the valve for supplying pressure fluid to the receiving chamber to displace fluid therefrom, a collection chamber exterior of the eduction tubing and conductor, a discharge conductor leading from Ithe receiving chamber to the collection chamber for conducting fluid, and a fluid discharge tubing between the collection chamber and the valve.

17. A well fluid lifting apparatus including, an eduction tubing, a collection chamber connected with the eduction tubing, a receiving chamber connected with the collection chamber and adapted to be mounted at the bottom of a well. said receiving chamber having a Well fluid inlet, means for supplying pressure fluid to the receiving chamber to displace well fluid therefrom into the collection chamber, a valve adapted to be located in a well connected to the eduction tubing and to the means forsupplying pressure fluid, surface means for operating said valve, secondary means for actuating the surface means for brief successive periods to operate the valve to periodically supply small quantities of pressure fluid to the receiving chamber, land primary means for actuating the surface means to operate the valve to supiply pressure fluid to the receiving and collection chambers to displace collected well fluid through the eduction tubing to the top of a well.

18. A system of flowing wells having tubing therein including, means for packing off the well and maintaining therein a reservoir of pressure fluid, a well fluid accumulating chamber having an inlet below the liquid level in the Well, a collecting chamber in the well connected with the accumulating chamber and the well tubing, means for admitting pressure fluid from the reservoir in the well to displace accumulations of well fluid from the accumulating chamber to the collection chamber prior to discharging such accumulations into the well tubing, and means for admitting pressure fluid from the reservoir to the collection chamber for discharging the accumulated Well fluid therefrom into the well tubing and to the top of the well.

19. A system of flowing wells having tubing therein, means for packing off the well and maintaining therein a reservoir of pressure fluid, a well fluid accumulating chamber having an inlet below the liquid level in the well, means for packing oir the well casing to provide a collecting chamber in the well connected with the accumulating chamber and the well tubing, means for admitting pressure fluid from the reservoir in the well to displace accumulations of well fluid from the accumulating chamber to the collection chamber prior to discharging such accumulations into the well tubing, and means for admitting pressure fluid from the reservoir to the collection chamber for discharging the accumulated Well fluid therefrom into the well tubing and to the top of the Well.

20. A well fluid lifting apparatus including, an elongate tubular accumulating chamber, a pressure fluid conductor connected with said accumulating chamber, a Well fluid conductor extending upwardly from the accumulating chamber and having a discharge opening, packers engaging with the pressure fluid conductor above and below the discharge of the well fluid conductor, well fluid eduction tubing having an inlet between said packers, and means for supplying pressure fluid to the pressure fluid conductor.

J EDDY D. NIXON. 

